It is the house brand for both Lowe's in North America and their joint venture with the now defunct Masters Home Improvement in Australia.

Williams launched Kobalt in 1998,[1] with the intention of competing against rival retailers Sears and The Home Depot and their respective Craftsman and Husky tool brands.

[3][4] In 2011, Lowe's ended its arrangement with Danaher and switched to a different supplier for its mechanic's hand tools,[5] JS Products of Las Vegas, Nevada.

[7] The same year, the Kobalt line expanded to include cordless power tools,[8] manufactured by Chervon.

Lowe's has two brands of tools and supplies positioned below Kobalt in quality and cost: Project Source and the more recent Blue Hawk, introduced in 2009.